Basingstoke Estate Agent Simmons and Sons have created an interactive guide to selling and letting property, now released on CD for PCs.
Clarke & Son get mention for our Conveyancing in Basingstoke and North Hampshire. If you are thinking of buying, selling or letting a property, you may be interested in getting a copy. You can contact the Basingstoke branch by email or by telephone on 01256 840077.
House prices in the last decade have risen most sharply in the Cornish city of Truro according to research carried out by the Halifax. The 262% price increase has led to Truro being the 17th most expensive city in which to buy property although prices remain below £2,000 per square metre at £1,876.
Whilst London tops the list Winchester is the fourth most expensive city with prices psm in 2006 standing at £2,572 making Winchester one of the twelve cities in the UK where prices are above the £2,000 threshold.
Amongst the other small cities included in the Halifax’s research was Southampton. Despite being the 12th most expensive city in which to live with average prices of £2,007 psm, prices in Southampton have experienced slow growth over the last ten years (132%) placing it into the bottom five on the list.
A tribunal decision was upheld this week by the Court of Appeal in the case of Cross v BA, with respect to retirement ages not being transferable under TUPE regulations.
The claimants had previously been employed by Caledonian Airways but transferred to British Airways when Caledonian was taken over by BA in 1988. Whilst the age of retirement at Caledonian had been 60 the retirement age at British Airways is set five years earlier at 55. This five-year difference formed the basis of a claim of unfair dismissal by the claimants who believed that their retirement ages should have been transferred under the Transfer of Undertakings (protection of employment) regulations, commonly known as TUPE.
The court decided however that ‘normal retirement’ age is not the same as ‘contractual retirement age’ and as such was not one of the powers, rights, duties or liabilities’, which are transferred under TUPE. Thus their retirement ages had not been frozen and they were not entitled to a claim of unfair dismissal.
Whether you are an employee or an employer you may want to know more about the TUPE regulations and how they could affect you. Click here to read more about TUPE or contact Nick by e-mail who will be happy to help with your queries.
The UK’s biggest mortgage lender, the Halifax Bank has released figures showing that house price inflation has risen by 4.4% in the first four months of 2006. The report rather contradicts the Nationwide survey also released this month.
The average property price rose from £175, 441 in March to £178, 992 in April, although the market is expected to remain buoyant for the next few months its believed that the continuing rise in prices in relation to earnings will cause a shift in demand.
The Bank of England announced their decision on interest rates today also, remaining unchanged at 4.5%.
If you are thinking of buying or selling your home and need some advice advice, or would like to arrange a meeting with one of our specialists, please contact either Peter Brown, Paul Cowdery or Jenny Axe.
Both employers and employees could be forced to pay tax on personal e-mails or using the Internet for non-business-related purposes at work under chancellor Gordon Brown’s revised Budget proposals.
Under the proposals any PC owned by a company, which is used for significant non-business purposes, will be liable for an annual charge of £210.
Having access to the Internet and e-mail facilities at work is deemed as a benefit in kind, and as such the costs would fall upon both employees and employers alike with increased income tax levied against employees whilst additional National Insurance contributions would fall upon employers.
“Clear guidance is needed so that employers and employees know exactly whether or not they have a tax liability,” said Anne Redston, chairman of personnel taxes at the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
